The current proposals have a strong public relations spin attached to them – Americans are promised a faster, more reliable system of resolving medical malpractice claims. Constitutional worries are brushed aside with misleading comparisons to other alternative compensation systems like worker’s compensation. However, attacks on
claimants’ rights to access the court system and to have a jury hear their complaints should not be sold to the public with slick and ultimately groundless promises. These rights, and their obstruction, deserve close constitutional scrutiny. So far the discussion has not included such analysis. This article examines current administrative compensation schemes and alternative tribunals and exposes the important ways health courts would differ from them. These differences will make the health courts unconstitutional under most state constitutions. Congress should not waste valuable time and money with such an unworkable proposal.